How to get a job at Meta: Zarina Tolagaeva's experience

Zarina Tolagaeva, City — Seattle, Product Manager at Meta, Instagram

About Me

I am a Product Manager at Meta. Currently, I work on developing and strategizing new projects for Facebook Marketplace. I have been working at Meta for a little over two years.

How to Get into Meta

I joined Meta through the RPM (Rotational Product Manager) program. This is a program for junior product managers where you work in three different teams over 18 months and then find a permanent team.

When the program opened, I applied on the website—this usually happens for a couple of weeks in August. The application included a resume and several questions about your approach to products and the reasons why you consider yourself a suitable candidate.

After that, I had a conversation with a recruiter. This is a standard conversation where they may ask questions about your experience and try to determine if you are a good candidate through light product-related questions.

Then comes the screening round, where you go through two interviews: product sense and analytical thinking. Here, specific product cases are presented, which require thorough preparation.

After that, I had a final round with three interviews: product sense, analytical thinking, and leadership and drive. The first two are the same, while leadership is a standard behavioral interview aimed at understanding how well you fit the company culture.

During my preparation, I watched many mock interviews on YouTube where product managers from major companies were asked similar questions and provided answers. I memorized the structure of the responses and thoroughly analyzed all the company's products to be ready for the interviews. Practice and structure are key factors for success. It is also important to adapt to the interviewer, as they may ask clarifying questions, and you need to know how to respond correctly and adjust your answers.

Work Specifics

Currently, I am working on a secret project aimed at increasing inventory on the marketplace. My task is to develop a plan for the product's operation and define the processes necessary for its successful launch. I collaborate with designers, researchers, engineers, and business functions to create the right product for our users.

I most often use Google Docs because we write many documents—it is a key tool for product managers.

For development, we use internal tools that are not available outside the company. For design, we use Figma, and for data analysis, we use Deltoid.

One of the main tasks of product managers is working with different people, connecting their perspectives, and balancing them to reach a common solution. Product managers are also responsible for convincing leadership of the product's necessity and analyzing risks and solutions.

Effective communication skills with partners from other teams are important for successfully fulfilling responsibilities to achieve your goals. You also need to be able to quickly and accurately describe the problem and the solution so that your audience has enough information to provide their opinion.

Our company always focuses on career development, and managers typically conduct monthly career conversations to help you understand whether you are performing at your current level, if there is something you need to improve, or if you are eligible for a promotion. Usually, promotions are expected up to the senior level, and after that, it becomes more difficult because you need to initiate and lead your own projects.

The specificity of working in an international team is that you need to be able to adapt to each individual. Often, the team consists of people from different countries and fields, and they may have disagreements. My task is to listen to them while making decisions that are important for the product.

The advantage and disadvantage of working in an international team compared to a local one is that working across different time zones is challenging, especially when there are many calls. I have colleagues whose time zone is three to eight hours ahead, so finding time with them to make decisions can be difficult.

What I like about Meta is that we have many opportunities for travel since employees are located in different cities. I go to Silicon Valley every couple of months. I have also been to New York four times for work and managed to visit Texas. The company covers 100% of expenses for good hotels, flights, and provides a daily budget for food.

The most important thing for success in my field is the ability to think quickly, ask good questions, and persuade people of your point of view.

About Life Abroad

I moved to Seattle for studies and spent five years there before joining Meta. Many of my acquaintances usually come for a master's degree and then start working. It is rare to meet people who moved for work from another country.

When you move, the company usually provides a flight, accommodation for a month, offers a car for the same period, and allocates a budget for moving belongings and assistance in finding a new apartment.

Never expect everything to be ready for you if you move abroad. You need to work hard to study and find a good job. No one will offer you everything on a silver platter, even if you have a foreign diploma. Always have a specific plan of what you expect from work and from colleagues.

If your goal is to achieve a certain level, work with your manager so that your projects and responsibilities help you reach it.

If you want to work on interesting projects, it is important to be able to build relationships and clearly understand exactly what you want.